Hats, horses and high fashion

by Little Sis on June 4, 2012

Phew, what a weekend it was. Glorious weather and a slightly overbooked calendar. I haven’t had a city weekend in a while between my trip to Poland and Memorial Day, so I had to catch up with friends and some life things (nails – done, laundry – four loads haunting me from the corner of the room). The low point was arriving almost an hour late for drinks at Peels on Saturday afternoon (must go back there for brunch) because I had to change and put aloe on my newly forming sunburn (I hate it when I miss a whole section with the sunscreen!), but don’t worry, I wasn’t the main guest, so all was well.

But moving on to the high points! Overbooked though it was, this weekend had some chic happenings. On Saturday, I went with my friend Alden from Clean Hippie to the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Liberty Park, NJ. The weather was more spectacular than had been predicted (hence the missed spots with sunscreen and some poor souls sporting rubber boots in the blazing sun) and with Lady Liberty turning her back on us, no doubt horrified at the bourgeois excesses of the event, we picnicked, sipped rosé champagne and observed the scene, and oh yeah, some polo was thrown in there for good measure (which to me is synonymous with Nacho Figueras, the sport’s hottie of the century). The fashion scene overall was just beyond. I am having a hard time bringing it to life in words. There were those who were curious and appropriately dressed (20% of the crowd), pompous wannabes (70%) in too much Gucci/madras or trying too hard to be Kate Middleton. Actual preps (>;10%) were utterly blasé and unaware of their cachet so sought after by the PWs. They went straight to the VIP section. The people watching was amazing and as a marketer, I fully appreciate the branding genius behind the event. I will definitely be going again next year.

Sunday was museum day and I headed through the park to the Upper East to see the Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations exhibit that was on our spring to-do list. It was short and sweet, though the “whole conversations” video element of the exhibit was a little forced when it came to Schiaparelli since she’s dead. Seeing Miuccia live, talking about her life was interesting, but with an actress playing Elsa’s part it came off as a little forced, though still interesting. Also, go at 10 a.m. on a Sunday. We strolled through the open space at our leisure and it was lovely.